5 Tips to Increase Enrollment in Higher Education

Higher education is in the middle of a storm. Enrollment declines are no longer a distant concern. They’re happening now. Families are questioning the value of a degree, digital habits are shifting, and traditional advertising isn’t cutting through.

So how can your institution stand out, connect with the right students, and actually increase enrollment in a changing landscape?

It starts with rethinking what “connection” really looks like. From refining your digital strategy to activating alumni and making smarter use of data, these five strategies will help you build stronger pipelines and more confident prospects.

1. Assessing Current Enrollment Strategies

Before you chase new tactics, take a clear-eyed look at what’s working and what’s not. Every enrollment team feels the pressure to “do more,” but more isn’t always better. It’s about doing the right things with the right focus.

Ask yourself:

• Are our current campaigns generating qualified inquiries or just impressions?
• Do we know which channels actually drive applications and enrollments?
• Is our messaging aligned with what today’s students care about, such as career readiness, affordability, and flexibility?

Start by auditing your enrollment funnel from awareness to application. If you’re still relying heavily on static digital display or print, you may be missing where attention truly lives: screens. Streaming screens, to be exact.

Modern enrollment marketing thrives when schools lean into video-first storytelling, where students see real stories, not slogans, about what makes your campus worth it. This is where tools like Performance TV campaigns shine, bringing your brand to life where students already spend their time watching, streaming, and scrolling.

2. Enhancing Digital Marketing Efforts

Let’s be honest. Traditional digital marketing alone doesn’t cut it anymore. Paid search and social have become a crowded and oversaturated space. If you want to capture student attention, you need to think video first, because that’s the medium they’re paying attention to.

According to Nielsen’s The Gauge, U.S. adults spend more than 3 hours per day watching digital video, and streaming platforms now account for over 40% of total TV usage in the United States.

That means your prospective students and their parents are more likely to see your message on Hulu, Paramount+, or Roku than anywhere else.

Here’s how to build a digital strategy that matches modern viewing habits.

Go Video-First Across Channels

• Performance TV (CTV + OTT): Streaming ads combine the storytelling power of TV with the precision of digital targeting. With AmbioEdu’s Performance TV solutions, you can reach student households by location, interests, or behavior and track every ad’s impact on applications.
• Social Video: Platforms like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat are where your next class hangs out. Create quick, authentic videos featuring student voices, behind-the-scenes campus clips, or faculty Q&As that humanize your brand.
• Retargeting Video Ads: Once prospects watch your ad on streaming TV, follow up with snackable videos on social or YouTube. As AmbioEdu’s blog on location-based marketing explains, pairing local targeting with retargeted creative keeps your institution top of mind.

Make Creative That Converts

Video ads don’t need to look like TV commercials. In fact, they shouldn’t. The best-performing creative tells stories that feel personal, not polished. Highlight student experiences, faculty moments, or life on campus in ways that spark emotion and authenticity.

Remember, you’re not selling a product. You’re offering transformation. Use your videos to show real outcomes and the impact your institution makes.

3. Strengthening Campus Visit Experiences

For all the talk about digital strategy, one of the strongest enrollment drivers is still the campus visit. The challenge is getting students to that moment and making it unforgettable when they arrive.

According to Ruffalo Noel Levitz’s 2024 Student Marketing and Recruitment Report, 71% of prospective students said that visiting campus was the most influential factor in their enrollment decision. That’s a powerful reminder that your digital marketing is only as good as the experience it leads to.

Here’s how to optimize your visits:

• Personalize the experience. Use your CRM data to tailor itineraries based on a student’s interests. If they’re into nursing or business, make sure they meet faculty in that program.
• Bring your story to life visually. Create short, immersive videos that highlight campus life, then send them ahead of visits or play them during tours. This reinforces the video-first brand identity they’ve already seen online.
• Capture the moment. Encourage visitors to share content during visits. User-generated videos from real students will build trust faster than any brochure you create.

Your goal is simple: make every visitor leave thinking, this feels like home.

4. Leveraging Alumni Networks for Recruitment

Your alumni are walking, talking proof that your degree has value. That’s exactly what prospective students want to see. When leveraged strategically, alumni can be one of the most authentic and cost-effective recruitment tools in your arsenal.

Consider launching a video-based alumni campaign highlighting success stories. Let grads speak in their own words about how your institution shaped their careers and lives. These clips can run as short social videos or CTV spots to boost awareness and credibility.

Encourage alumni to:

• Participate in virtual Q&A panels for prospective students
• Record short testimonial videos for digital and TV ads
• Share your campaign content on their networks

When alumni feel involved, they amplify your message in ways that paid ads simply can’t. They also make your storytelling more believable because they’ve lived it.

Pro tip: Repurpose these stories for your website and enrollment landing pages, similar to how this AmbioEdu blog on effective landing pages outlines best practices for conversion-driven storytelling. Real alumni voices paired with authentic visuals can dramatically improve engagement.

5. Implementing Data-Driven Decision Making

In higher ed marketing, guessing isn’t a strategy. The best enrollment teams use data to make smarter, faster decisions because every dollar counts.

If you’re still measuring success only by impressions or clicks, it’s time to level up. You need attribution that connects ad exposure to actual enrollment outcomes.

That’s where Performance TV changes the game. AmbioEdu is the first in higher education to tie streaming ad performance directly to enrollment attribution. That means you can see exactly which campaigns led to inquiries, applications, and admitted students.

Combine that with data from your CRM, Google Analytics, and email engagement tools, and you have a full picture of what’s driving results and what’s wasting spend.

Here’s how to put data to work:

• Track multi-channel performance. Compare CTV, social, search, and email performance side by side.
• Optimize based on audience insights. Look at where your best-performing leads come from and double down on those channels.
• Refine creative using engagement data. If a 15-second video drives more views than a 30-second one, you know what to prioritize.

The takeaway is clear: you can’t fix what you can’t measure. Modern enrollment marketing is built on data, not hunches.

6. An Action Plan for Increased Enrollment

Let’s bring it all together. Here’s your roadmap for building enrollment momentum that lasts.

1. Audit and realign your funnel. Identify gaps between awareness and application.
2. Adopt a video-first mindset. Lead with authentic visual storytelling across channels, using tactics like social video and Performance TV to connect with students where they watch.
3. Connect clicks to conversations. Think past awareness. Use enrollment attribution to measure ROI, not just reach.
4. Prioritize authenticity. Showcase students, staff, and alumni in your creative.
5. Build for the long term. Test, learn, and optimize. Enrollment success isn’t one campaign; it’s a mindset.

Today’s students are savvier, more skeptical, and more digitally connected than ever. They won’t be moved by another “Join our community” tagline. They want proof. They want transparency. They want stories that center them, where they are not just part of the journey but the reason it matters.

And that’s where AmbioEdu comes in. With Performance TV campaigns built for higher ed, your institution can connect with students where they watch, engage, and decide, and track every enrollment that follows.

Let’s make your next enrollment cycle your strongest yet. Get in touch with our team to see how we can help your institution stand out and grow.